Ministry Gifts

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (Eph 4:11-12 ESV)

Previously, we looked at the Motivational Gifts and the Manifestations of the Spirit. Now we will look at the Ministry Gifts. Remember, this is a quick overview and is not meant to be an in-depth study. I don’t think that everyone has one of these ministries. Some Christians spend their entire lives doing the work of one of these ministries. Other Christians perform certain ministries at certain times. Unfortunately, we lay the burden of being the “jack of all trades” on pastors (shepherds), when that is not what Jesus meant for His Church. No one person is called to perform all of these ministries at one time.

Apostles

Plant churches (must be sent by a group of believers)

Prophets

Inspired speakers

Evangelists

Preach the gospel

Shepherds

Watch out for God’s sheep

Teachers

Instruct God’s people

There are two purposes listed in the text for these ministries: Equipping the saints for the work of ministry and building up the body of Christ. Those people with these gifts are suppose to use their gifts to help other Christians in their ministries. These gifts should not be elevated to special offices. They are given to form the saints into the perfect image of Jesus Christ. In light of this, they should not even be thought of as gifts for an individual, they are gifts through individuals for the Body of Christ.

In our final look at the Spiritual Gifts, I will show how the different types of gifts work together in a Christian’s life.